Big Mo's Blog

Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/15/2012

by Big Mo,posted Jul 19 2012 12:38AM

Frank Ocean sells over a 130,000 first-week units, but misses the #1 spot. Aesop Rock scores a Top 20 debut and the most weekly sales of his career with "Skelethon." B.o.B. falls 61 spots from last week.

Although he was over 100,000 units shy of Zac Brown Band, Frank Ocean delivered a powerful shot to the charts with Channel Orange. The Def Jam release garnered a #2 debut, selling over 130,000 digital copies in its first week available. As Frank debuted at retail, Aesop Rock made a gallant return. The former Weathermen/Def Jukie's first solo album with Rhymesayers Entertainment scored a Top 20 appearance. The lyrical emcee sold an impressive 14,000 copies independently, met with some critical praise. Meanwhile, after a strong surge in last week's numbers, B.o.B.'s sophomore Strange Clouds fell 61 places the following week, now at #87.

Aesop Rock Wins Again

As A$AP Rocky has become the talk of Hip Hop in the last year, Aesop Rock reclaimed his space in Hip Hop. Now a Rhymesayer, the Long Island, New York native released his sixth solo album, Skelethon last week. Aesop's first solo release since 2007's None Shall Pass, this effort was largely made alone, with one vocal guest and self-production. During his hiatus from solo material, Aesop released his group project, Hail Mary Mallon'sAre You Gonna Eat That? last year, along with Felt's third album, Felt 3: A Tribute To Rosie Perez, further expanded his production chops. This release not only marks Aesop's highest charting position of his career in the Top 200, but also the most first-week units recorded by Nielsen, edging out None Shall Pass. Skelethon was also made for free stream earlier this week.